Homophones: Words with the Same Sound

• English words are combinations of 26 letters forming specific sounds.
• Words may have the same or similar sounds but different spellings and meanings.
• Specific word spelling differentiates words.

Homophones

• Words with the same sound but different meanings.
• Greek prefix homo- means same and root phone means sound.
• Can be sets of two, three, or more words that sound alike.

Homophone Examples

• Meanings are distinguishable based on their unique spellings.
• aisle and isle: The bride and groom skipped happily down the aisle during their wedding on the beautiful isle of Fiji.
• knew and new: She knew that she needed to soon replace her old car with a new one.
• hour and our: The hour had come that we had to accept the consequences of our actions.
• male and mail: Is the mail deliverer a male or female?
• ball and bawl: Oh boy did he bawl when the ball smacked him on the cheekbone!
• I and eye: I almost wrecked my bike when the bug flew into my eye.
• pain and pane: What a pain it is to repair the cracked window pane!
• here and hear: Did you hear that the President of Monaco will be speaking here in the town square next week?
• plain and plane: From 30,000 feet in the air, we looked out the window of the plane and saw the vastness of the Kansas plain.
• to, too, and two: The two goslings waded into the lake to swim, and the goose and gander were in the water, too.
• cent, scent, and sent: The owner sent his dog out to pick up on the scent of his lost one-cent coin.

Homographs

• Words with different meanings that are spelled the same.
• May or may not sound the same.
• Greek root graph means writing, so the word homograph means same writing.
• Rely heavily on contextual clues to decipher their meanings and pronunciations.
• Example:
  • "Tire" can mean "to feel a need for rest" (verb) or "a rubber wheel covering" (noun).

Homograph Examples

• pen: The veterinarian wrote his findings with a blue pen as he passed by the pig pen.
• bow: Sally's giant hair bow fell to the floor as she took a bow at the conclusion of her performance.
• fine: After paying the reduced fine for his speeding ticket, Jose was no longer anxious, and he felt fine.
• lead: As he scribbled so quickly to take the lead in the speed writing contest, the lead of his pencil broke.
• tear: A tear rolled down her cheek when she noticed a tear in her favorite pair of tights.
• left: Once they left the store, they took an immediate left turn onto the highway.
• Context clues point to the correct pronunciation and meaning.
• May appear independently and do not always occur within the same sentence.

Homonyms

• Can refer to either a homophone or a homograph.
• Greek root nym means name, so the word homonym is literally translated as same name.
• Words with the same spelling, same pronunciation, or both but have different meanings.
• Homonyms that are pronounced the same can also be classified as homophones.
• Homonyms that are spelled the same can also be labeled homographs.
• Some homonyms fall into both categories, containing the same spelling and pronunciation.

Homonyms - Examples By Type

• Homophones: there, their, they're; ate, eight; for, four, fore; pour, pore; pear, pare, pair
• Homographs: close the door, too close; bass fish, bass instrument; wind that blows, wind-up toy; present the award, present not future; sow - female pig, sow - to plant seeds
• Both: bear the pain, grizzly bear; park the car, walk in the park; baseball pitcher, pitcher of water; spring into action, spring the season; baseball bat, flying bat

Homonyms in Sentences

• For several years, the professional pitcher awoke early, left his home before eight o'clock, walked to the park, and fished for bass in the pond during the months leading up to spring training.
• Look over there at the pair of sows in the pen!
• I now present the Bravery Award to the team of rangers who safely rescued the black bear from the pit.

Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Recognizing homophones is critical for reading comprehension. This lesson provides several examples of common homophones.